EC letter with BJP Kerala seal sparks row; Commission calls it ‘clerical error’, says rectified

A major political controversy erupted on Monday after a letter from the Election Commission of India was found carrying the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party Kerala unit, prompting sharp reactions from opposition parties.

Following the development, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and the Indian National Congress criticised the poll panel.

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The CPM alleged that the Election Commission was acting as an “agent” of the BJP and flagged the issue on social media platform X.

The controversy stemmed from an affidavit attached to a March 19, 2019 letter sent by the Election Commission to political parties. The document, as highlighted by the CPM, bore the BJP Kerala seal instead of the official seal of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kerala.

Amid the row, the Election Commission issued a clarification, terming the incident a “clerical error.” Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala, Dr. Ratan U. Khelkar, said the mistake was identified and rectified immediately.

“It has come to our notice that a letter from the Election Commission, bearing the seal of the BJP, is being circulated across various Malayalam news channels.

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) hereby clarifies that this was purely a clerical error, which was identified and rectified immediately,” the CEO said in a statement.

The CEO’s office further explained that the BJP Kerala unit had approached it seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates.

Along with the request, the party had submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive, which carried its seal.

“Due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party symbol on the submitted document and inadvertently redistributed it to other political parties as part of the requested clarification,” the statement added.